Eljay, I feel like were growing apart. We barely talk anymore, and I know youve been sleeping around
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There are three essential questions in life that no mortal man is capable of answering: How did we get here, why are we here, and what happens after death? The first question, although bewildering, has no direct consequence on us. We are here, and discerning the source of our existence - whether it be Curious George or an apple loving woman and her man - would not affect the way we choose to live our lives, just as discovering who shot John Kennedy would not change the fact that he is dead.
The second question carries a bit more weight, as people’s perceptions on The Meaning of Life may shape their decisions. One man, for example, might marry his true love and lead a quiet life raising children, believing that we are here in pursuit of happiness, while another man might spend his life leading others and effecting change, perhaps even sacrificing his life for a cause, believing that we are here to make a difference. The Meaning of Life might just be a Monty Python movie, or it might be “42,” as author Douglas Adams speculated, but man will never know, and so he must content himself to live life the way he sees fit.
The third question, regarding the existence of an afterlife, has the largest impact. Ultimately, it is the basis of all religion. The idea that there is nothing after death is frightening and disagreeable, partially because the idea of nothingness is virtually impossible for the human mind to grasp. (A seemingly feebler mind, like that of a fish, might have more luck, as a fish is halfway to nothingness while still alive.) As a result, and despite knowledge that our physical bodies perish, most people find comfort in believing that there is life after death, be it in the company of a plethora of virgins or reincarnated in the body of a Savannah Tsetse fly.
People often incorporate their ideas on The Meaning of Life into their beliefs on the afterlife, arguing that there are two possible courses - Good and Evil, Heaven and Hell, the body of a prince and the body of a fly - for a spirit to take in the afterlife, and the placement of a person’s spirit on one of these courses is dependent on that person’s actions throughout their life. As such, since they do not want to go to Hell (unless they enjoy extreme summertime temperatures and look really cute in red), people devote their lives to the practices they believe will put them on the Good course. For many, this means following the instructions of a savoir such as Jesus Christ or Mohammed who has the power to put a person’s spirit on the Good course. However, only the most zealous refuse to admit the slightest possibility that their beliefs are faulty, and this possibility leaves a voice in the back of many people’s minds that constantly asks, “What if there is no afterlife?” This question instills a basic fear in mankind, a fear that is innate in human nature: the fear of death. Although religion results in many additional benefits, such as a code of morals and tradition, it is, in the end, just a technique for coping with this fear. In his poem “Blackberry-Picking,” Seamus Heaney presents a discussion of this fear and the adoption of religion as a coping technique by using the imagery and experience of picking blackberries as a metaphor for espousing Catholicism and its practices.